Can things get any worse for Armie Hammer?
First, news broke Thursday that the 34-year-old “Call Me By Your Name” star was being dropped from yet another high-profile project, a drama series about the making of “The Godfather.” No reason was given, but Hammer has been embroiled in a controversy about his private life, including allegations that he sent lurid private messages to women about cannibalism and other sexual fantasies.
But that’s not the only reason Hammer was starring in entertainment gossip headlines Thursday. In a case of very bad timing, The Hollywood Reporter revealed that Hammer’s “Call Me By Your Name” collaborators, co-star Timothee Chalamet and director Luca Guadagnino, are thinking about teaming up again for a coming-of-age horror film called “Bones and All.” The film follows a young woman on “a cross-country trip as she searches for the father she’s never met.”
Although Hammer isn’t involved in the production, his name particularly stood out because Chalamet’s new project has, yes, a cannibal theme. The Hollywood Reporter said the young woman’s journey is motivated by a need “to understand why she has the urge to kill and eat the people that love her.”
The Hollywood Reporter also noted that Hammer has spoken to Chalamet and Guadagnino about collaborating again on a “Call Me By Your Name” sequel.
Perhaps most embarrassing for Hammer: After gossip writer Just Jared shared a report about Chalamet’s “cannibal love story movie” on his Instagram, Hammer’s estranged wife, Elizabeth Chambers, left a comment — the first she’s spoken about the controversy surrounding her soon-to-be-ex-husband, People reported
“No. Words,” Chambers wrote, according to People.
Hammer and Chambers announced in July 2020 that they were divorcing after 10 years of marriage and two children together, a daughter, 6, and a son, 4. When Chambers announced the split on Instagram, she wrote kindly, “It has been an incredible journey, but together, we’ve decided to turn the page and move on from our marriage.”
Chambers added that “our children and relationship as co-parents and dear friends will remain our priority.”
It appears that Hammer may have had other priorities in the past year, including getting into what reports describe as a series of intense relationships with women. In recent weeks, some of those women have come forward to allege that Hammer was controlling with them, often discussed lurid fantasies that included and was interested in kinky sex play.
Earlier this week, Paige Lorenze, a 22-year-old model opened up on YouTube and in an interview about how she and Hammer started dating in September and moved “extremely fast” into what she called “a polyamorous open relationship” that included “BDSM-related activities in the bedroom.”
Lorenze told E! that Hammer “eased” her into the activities that could be “scary” and leave her in “a lot of pain.” In her YouTube video, she claimed he carved his initial “A” in the skin above her groin. Lorenze said she ended the relationship in December.
Lorenze’s claims come after two other women, who allegedly had relationships with Hammer, went public with their concerns about his behavior. One of those women, Courtney Vucekovich, specifically claimed to Page Six that Hammer liked to talked about which parts of her body he’d like to eat.
“He said to me he wants to break my rib and barbecue and eat it,” said Vucekovich, an app founder. “He says ‘I want to take a bite out of you. If I had a little cut on my hand he’d like suck it or lick it. That’s about as weird as we got.”
The scandal began earlier this month when screenshots circulated online of graphic Instagram DMs that allegedly showed the actor speaking to women in a way that was sexually domineering and violent, Glamour reported. The screenshots appeared to have originated from multiple Instagram accounts, and there has never been any proof that the messages are real.
Both Vucekovich and another alleged ex-girlfriend, writer Jessica Ciencin Henriquez, said they believed that Hammer could have sent the unverified direct messages that originally plunged him into the scandal.
In recent weeks, Hammer has been learning that allegations of sexual abuse, harassment or abuse of power against powerful men can have devastating career consequences in the wake of the #MeToo movement. Before being cut from the “The Godfather” series, he withdrew from the film project, “Shotgun Wedding,” with Jennifer Lopez.
Armie Hammer initially called “B.S.” on the allegations, telling People that he didn’t even want to respond to the “(expletive) claims.” He decried the “vicious and spurious online attacks against me” and offered them as the reason he voluntarily withdrew from “Shotgun Wedding.” He said he didn’t think he could leave his young children for four months to shoot a film in the Dominican Republic.
Hammer offered no reason Thursday for why he was no longer involved in the Paramount Plus TV series about “The Godfather,” according to Variety. Neither he nor Paramount responded to a request from Variety for comment.
It was announced in early December that Hammer would star in “The Offer,” a 10-part series about the behind-the-scenes effort to make the iconic gangster film in 1972. Hammer was set to play Al Ruddy, who produced the Academy Award-winning film starring Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, Robert Duvall and Diane Keaton.
